Urban Reviews: Tell us about Changing Faces.
Kimberla Lawson Roby: Changing Faces is about three best friends with three different issues. Whitney is struggling with the problem of being overweight, Taylor is ignoring a female illness and has a boyfriend who won't commit and Charisse is not the Holier-than-Thou Christian she pretends to be.

Urban Reviews: In Changing Faces, Whitney has a struggle with weight loss. Why did you decide to incorporate this issue into the storyline?
I decided to write about overweight issues because obesity is far too prevalent in our country and because even though I don't know what it's like to be 100 pounds overweight, I do know what it's like to be 45 pounds heavier than I am today and how important it is to stop dieting and instead adopt a brand-new lifestyle in terms of working out regularly and eating healthy, nutritious food.

Urban Reviews: Since this is your eighth novel, does it become more difficult to come up with fresh ideas for stories?
Kimberla Lawson Roby: It doesn't become more difficult to come up with new ideas, but the more stories you write, the more you feel the pressure of trying to live up to your last one. I'm always hoping with each book that my readers will not be disappointed.

Urban Reviews: Your very first novel Behind Closed Doors was self-published. How hard was it to get a book deal with a major publisher at that time?
Kimberla Lawson Roby: When I finished writing Behind Closed Doors, I wasn't able to find a literary agent to represent me or a publisher to acquire my work so I did become somewhat discouraged. However, my mom kept saying how people here locally were reading copies of my manuscript and were saying they couldn't put it down and she really felt that I should give up. Then, my husband reminded me of my background in business and suggested that I start my own company to publish the book myself and that's what I ended up doing and once my book began to sell and immediately made the Blackboard Bestseller list, I signed with an agent and she was able to secure me a contract with a NY publisher for my second novel that I had even written yet.

Urban Reviews: Have we seen the last of Rev. Curtis Black?
Kimberla Lawson Roby: My plan was to only write one book about Curits Black. However, because my readers wanted to see more of him, I wrote a second and a third. I've now completed a fourth novel about Curtis although this will probably be the last book centering on his life. The title is A Rock And A Hard Place, and it will be released in January 2007.

Urban Reviews: Do you have any upcoming projects that you are working on now?
Kimberla Lawson Roby: I'm currently outlining my 10th novel for release in January 2008.

Urban Reviews: Who are some of your current favorite authors or books?
Kimberla Lawson Roby: Terry McMillan, Barbara Delinksy, Bebe Moore Campbell, Victoria Christopher Murray, E. Lynn Harris, Eric Jerome Dickey. Also, right now, I'm reading Memoirs Of A Geisha which I am loving a whole lot.

Urban Reviews: What would you say is the most important thing that you've learned being a bestselling author? Would you have done anything differently?
Kimberla Lawson Roby: The most important thing I've learned is that as a writer, the best thing you can do is stay true to yourself, write from your heart and believe in what you're putting down on paper. I've held on to that philosophy since the very beginning and it has made all the difference in terms of my career. I've truly been blessed by God in a huge way and I always recognize that my readers are the most important part of what I do.

Urban Reviews: What advice would you give someone trying to enter the ever growing African-American fiction market today?
Kimberla Lawson Roby: Write what you know, believe in what you're writing and research the industry--- both in terms of the craft of writing and the business of publishing. Also, try to write at least something every single day.

Urban Reviews: What do you want people to know most about Kimberla Lawson Roby-the person?
Kimberla Lawson Roby: That I keep my faith in God very strong (He is always first), that I make sure to treat all people the way I want to be treated and that next to God, my husband, family and friends are my priorities in life